"Roomies 3: Digital Frontier," written by Freedom Fighter Here we go... three episodes left this season! Start countin' em down! Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime series, characters, or locations represented in this fanfic. I also do not own any of the reality show elements presented as well. = = = = = = = = = = Tenchi: (VO) 16 contestants from 12 anime shows. 42 days living by themselves in the wild Digital World. But only one will walk away with a grand prize of one million dollars. (Begin theme song, showing each of the contestants one at a time for 1.5 seconds each) - Tally, working with partner Riley as they boot up the Juggernaut program - Amy M., studying for high school entrance exams with her friends - Rally, driving her Shelby GT down the highway at more than 120 mph - Yugi, putting together the Millennium Puzzle - Takuya, diving out of the way of a truck that spins to avoid hitting him - Yusuke, facing off against the three-eyed demon Hiei - James, being swindled by the Magikarp seller - Keith, observing a duel between Yugi and Kaiba atop Pegasus's castle - Rini, chatting with her own Moon kingdom kitty, Diana - Amy R., freeing her idol Sonic from a cage upon the Death Egg - Jet, piloting the Bebop as Spike looks on from the side - Nabiki, standing in front of the Anything-Goes Martial Arts dojo - Trowa, slipping on his circus costume - Trunks, practicing how to fuse with Goten - Whitney, ordering Milty to roll down and back up a hill - Haruka, showing the dilapidated Hinata Summer House to the Hina crew (Show scenes of Keith walking to Salt Lake City, Haruka in a giant Bowser suit, Takuya sitting in a square, and Amy M. carrying a tent building kit.) Tenchi: (VO) Some of them will become the best of friends. Others will develop grudges against those they hate. But only one will walk away with up to a million dollars or more in cash and prizes. (A log cabin appears in the background.) Tenchi: (VO) These men and women are... Roomies! (End theme song, with a picture of all 16 contestants standing with Flame Terminal behind them in the background.) = = = = = = = = = = Episode 16 - A Big Changeup (06.06.03) Day Thirty-One When we last left the Roomies crew, the two largest alliances in the game clashed. But it was all a part of Keith's master plan, as now every member of the Adult Alliance or a subsidary of it had been revealed. Amy M.: I guess what they say is true... too many cooks do spoil the broth. Amy R.: Cooks? All I see is a bunch of people who are dazed, confused, and angry. Whitney: Alright... who wants to care to explain this? Jet: What just happened? It's like everything just blew up in our faces! Tally: Yeah, and I know just who's responsible. Tally glares at Keith, who doesn't try to hide his guilt at all. Keith: I may be responsible, but you all brought it upon yourself! Making all of those alliances was a complete waste of time. Takuya: I'll say. There's so many people, I can't even count them all! Trowa: I had a feeling that there was some kind of mass operation going on. Whitney: Well, you were my alliance partner for a week! You couldn't have clued me into that? I had to hear it from James this morning! James: Hey, don't shoot the messenger! I just told you what I heard! Nabiki: You mean you've been listening into our conversations? On both sides? James: (cowering) Just yesterday... please don't hurt me! Tally: Everybody calm down! There's a perfectly good explanation for all of this! Keith: Of course there is, Tally. You, Jet, and Haruka schemed to form partnerships with everyone here! Nabiki: You'd pull people over one at a time, promising that you'd vote for them if they'd vote for all of you! Amy R.: That's exactly what I was promised! James: Me too! Rini: Me three! Keith: The kick was... you each went off on your own, looking to garner your own personal votes. Trowa: (to Haruka) And I thought working with you would've been my best move. Now I see that it was my worst. Rally: (to Jet) That's for sure! Not even another bounty hunter can pull the wool of Rally Vincent's eyes and get away with it! Takuya: (to Tally) It was just supposed to be you and me! What happened to the show loyalty you had? Haruka: Well... Jet: You see, uh... Tally: About that... Keith: Heh... just as I thought. A whole bunch of empty, greedy promises. I knew they couldn't be trusted from the start. Tally: Pardon me, Bandit Keith, but you were an original member of the Adult Alliance yourself! You found out what we were going to do and then you dropped out, having found a way to get ahead in the game! Keith: And there's something wrong with that? All I was doing is stop you three from tricking all of these poor people into voting for you dopes! Jet: So you planned to play us for saps the whole dang time? Keith: You got it, pops! Tally: (points at Nabiki) And you... you were in on it the whole time! The whole tirade after you got dumped from two alliances was a ploy, wasn't it? Nabiki: I didn't know anything until Keith gave me an offer I couldn't refuse... half of his winnings if he's this season's champion. Whitney: But wasn't one of the alliances you broke up from involved Yusuke and Trunks, whom are part of the group you're with now? Keith: That's the beauty of it... it's not Yusuke and Trunks's alliance. It's my alliance! I'm running the show and I planned this backstabbing from start to finish! And now I'm going to reap the benefits! With that, Keith laughs maniacally as he heads off to the cabin with Nabiki. Trunks, Yusuke, and Rally all follow, though it seems they aren't happy. That left the Adult Alliance members and the non-allied Roomies there to discuss things some more. Whitney: I bet that talk you gave me the other day to cheer me up was all a part of your plan! Tally: Whitney, I assure you... those were genuine feelings! Takuya: For once, I'm on Whitney's side. That was wrong of you to work with other people behind my back! It wasn't right! Trowa: I guess things never change wherever you go. You just can't trust anybody these days. Trowa, Takuya, and Whitney head off to the campsite. Amy Rose follows them, while Amy Mizuno pulls her fellow Scout Rini to the cabin. That just left James and the three core Adult Alliance members. Haruka: Spying on people isn't a good thing, you know. Tally: Haruka's right! If you were spying on us and on Bandit Keith, you should of told us! Maybe we wouldn't have looked like complete fools! Jet: We have no one to blame but ourselves, Tally. Don't bring James into it... it wasn't his job to tell us anything. Tally: Stop defending him! He was your secondary link, just like Amy was to me and Rini was to Haruka! In fact, you kept telling me he should play a larger role in the team! I bet you foresaw this whole thing coming! Jet: I don't know what the hell you're talking about! James: Me neither. I decided to spy on my own! Haruka: (pushing James away) I think you'd better go... the three of us need to talk alone. James doesn't hesitate in exiting the scene, leaving the trio behind. Jet starts pacing around as Haruka shakes her head and Tally quietly fumes. Jet: I should've seen this coming. Haruka: I told you, Tally. Bringing Keith into the group at the beginning was a terrible mistake. Tally: Everything I've worked for... gone! Jet: What do you mean everything you've worked for? Tally: I was the one who came up with the idea and brought us together! Jet: But who did all the work? Me and Haruka, that's who! We've done just as much as you! Tally: Oh really? Then why don't you tell me how neither of you saw this coming? Jet: Why didn't you see it coming? Tally: I asked you first! Haruka: Arguing will get us nowhere. Tally: I think it should. The whole time, no one spoke up and said that this was a bad idea! That we shouldn't have gone through with it! Well, we went through with it and now it feels like we've been clamped within the walls of the D-Reaper and there's no way out! Jet: Say what? Tally: The point is, it's over! None of us are going to get in! And there's nothing... absolutely nothing... we can do about it! Haruka: You know, it's best to think on the positive side... Tally: And I think it's best for you to stop giving people useless advice! It hasn't helped us one bit! Tally then starts to walk off, heading back towards the Pagumon village. Jet: Hey! Where are you going? Tally: Home! If I don't have even a minute chance of winning, then there's no use in staying. I'm going home. Jet and Haruka just stand there as Tally walks away, powerless to stop her. Haruka: You think she'll come back? Jet: Maybe. She's really pissed off. Haruka: She's got a reason to be. Jet: (scratches his head) Man... when Faye said she didn't understand the game, I thought she was making it up because she couldn't handle the pressure. Maybe she was right about how tough this game is after all. Haruka: One thing's for sure... even if she does come back, what are her chances of getting into the Final Four. Better yet, what are ours? Jet: Just as slim as hers, I'm afraid. We blew it. If it weren't for the fact that I'm so stubborn that I'd stay here to the bitter end, I'd be trying to get out of here too. Haruka: (turning to head back) Well, we'd better get back. Jet: Shouldn't we let everyone cool off before attempting to face them? Haruka: They'll need an explanation. And we're the only ones who can provide it. Haruka heads back to camp. Jet shakes his head before reluctantly following her. Jet: (mumbling) I can't believe I'm doing this. ====== Meanwhile, Trunks and Yusuke have not yet gone back. Instead, they went off to a secluded area together to do some venting. Yusuke: How dare he take control of the alliance away from us? We're the top guns here! Trunks: Keith needs to be taught a lesson... and we're just the guys to do it. Yusuke: He thinks he's so slick. It's too bad he doesn't realize who he's dealing with! If we weren't in this stupid game right now, I'd beat him to a pulp! Trunks: He's such a bad guy. Why didn't we even let him become part of our alliance anyway? Yusuke: To get rid of the Adult Alliance. Now that they're pretty much screwed, we can dump Keith. Trunks: What about Rally and Nabiki? What do we do about them? Yusuke: Rally I'm okay with... if she wants to continue to work with us, that is. But Nabiki's going down, just like Keith! Trunks: How do we get rid of them without beating them up? Yusuke: Geese, you ask a lot of questions! I don't even know yet! I'll figure out something... ====== While Yusuke and Trunks plan an ouster, the oustees Keith and Nabiki are celebrating, even as Keith packs his things to move to the campsite. Keith: We got 'em real good! Nabiki: (laughs) Did you see the looks on their faces? It was priceless! Keith: And now we move one more step closer to victory! Nabiki: I can just imagine swimming in my share of the money! Keith: With Phase Two complete, all that's left is to start Phase Three! Nabiki: And I'll be right behind you all the way! Uh... what is Phase Three? Keith: Campaigning! Now that we're in position to get the votes, we have to make sure we get 'em. And that means anyway possible! Nabiki: (a little apprehensive) You're not going to start threatening people, are you? Keith: I don't think I'll go that far... but it'll be close. We have to convince everyone that I'm rightfully deserving of winning! I'm strong mentally and physically, and I just dismantled the largest alliance in the game! Who wouldn't want someone like that to win? Nabiki: We start right away then, I guess. Keith: Right. You start talking with people here in the cabin, while I take care of those at the campsite. Trust me... when we're done, this game's in the bag! Soon afterwards, the switches are made. Keith and Rini move to the campsite, while Amy Rose and Tally, who had decided not to go home after all, move to the cabin. All the while, only Keith is smiling as the exchange is made. For the moment, he has the upper hand in the game. ****** Day Thirty-Two It's morning, and things have been rather quiet since the fiasco that was the break-up of the Adult Alliance the day before. Nabiki is out training Guilmon all alone in the forest area, about half a mile away from the cabin. Nabiki: (sighs) Come on, Guilmon! After an entire month, you still haven't learned any attacks. What is your speciality anyway? Guilmon: I shoot fireballs from my mouth. Nabiki: Then how come you don't do so? Guilmon: I don't know. I guess I haven't learned how to yet. Nabiki: For crying out loud... you don't expect to beat Guilmon by using your fists, do you? Guilmon: Actually... Before Guilmon could tell Nabiki about his last practice bout with Gatomon, Yusuke appears out of the bushes. Nabiki: Yusuke? (seriously) What do you want? Yusuke: (walking towards Nabiki) What kind of deal did you make with Bandit Keith? Nabiki: It's none of your business! Yusuke: I'm making it my business! Tell me now or I'll pop you where you stand! Nabiki saw that Yusuke was serious when he reared his right fist back. Nabiki: (putting her hands up and waving them about) Okay, okay! Just don't hit me! Yusuke: (lowering his fist) That's better. Nabiki: He promised to share half of his winnings with me if he won! Yusuke: And you trusted him? You would've been better off staying with the Adult Alliance! At least there you had a good shot of getting into the finals. Nabiki: Bandit Keith's a genius! More than you'll ever be, too! Yusuke: We'll see how much of a genius he is when I kick him and you out of our alliance! Yusuke starts heading back to the cabin. Nabiki decides not to go after him. She instead returns to training Guilmon. Nabiki: Now... what were we talking about? ====== Over at the campsite, Keith is busy observing potential new partners. Keith: Let's see... there's gotta be some dolt that ought to be easy to persuade. He first looks over at Takuya, Trunks, and Rini, who are all playing around like kids. Keith: Too young... He then glances at Haruka and Jet, two-thirds of the former Adult Alliance, who are busy cooking. Keith: Too old... although it would be a nice incentive to have Haruka around, I doubt she'd pledge her loyalty to me. That just left the two Pokémon representatives... Whitney and James, cleaning separate parts of the camp. Keith: Whitney might work with Nabiki, plus she's easy on the eyes. But she might not want to vote for me either. I'll put her down as a maybe. That just leaves me with that dweeb, James! Well... beggars can't be choosers. It'll have to be him. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to get him to work for me. The gears in Keith's head started to turn, as he began to scheme even more. ====== Later that day, we see one of the Roomies at the cabin trying her best not to think about the game at all. And that's Amy Mizuno, who's curled up in a good book to read off in the corner, away from the rest of the group, who are watching some DVDs. Amy M.: (VO) Caroline glanced out the glass pane window and watched the gorgeous orange and brown autumn leaves fall from the trees and land on the ground. She wondered when her beloved would return from his long journey. It had been five weeks already, and she was already beginning to believe that the worst had happened. Still, she kept the faith... Trowa: You're really immersed in that book, aren't you? Amy looked up and saw Trowa standing in front of her. He was holding a bowl of popcorn in his hands. Amy M.: It's very good. It's a story about a young women named Caroline who loses her fiancé to a car accident and her struggles to return to a normal life. Trowa: Like romance novels? Amy M.: Yes, they're very entertaining. Trowa: Just makes you wish you had someone to share it with, huh? Amy M.: Wait... are you? Trowa: Well, I was going to watch one of the Ranma movies with the other girls, but if you want some company... Amy M.: It's okay, Trowa. I wouldn't want to keep you from them. Trowa: Suit yourself. Trowa heads over to the couch to join Amy Rose, Nabiki, Rally, and Tally in a good movie. At least for now, it seems as if they had forgotten what had happened the day before. ====== Day Thirty-Three The next day, Bandit Keith begins to put Phase Three into action. He spots James wandering off away from camp and decides to follow him. Little does he know that Whitney was searching through the crates for some spices when she looked up and saw him leaving. Keith: James, wait up! James: (looking back) What? Keith: You wanna talk? Let's talk! James: Talk about what? Keith: Alliance. My alliance... and I want you in it! James: But I thought you hated me? Keith: I never hated! I pretty much support you! After all, us sneaky guys have to stick together! James: Well... I guess you're right. Okay, I'm in! Keith: I like the way you think, James! Agreeing without much of a hitch! We'll make beautiful music together crushing our foes! The two 'villains' shake hands, sealing the deal on their agreement. Keith: (CC) I knew he'd be easy to turn! All I have to do is get him to vote for me and that's one more step closer to the grand prize! ====== Later in the day, the sixteen Roomies head off to the challenge field. The reason for doing so... a baseball that both Amy Rose and Trunks had their hands on. On the baseballs, written in black ink, were the words 'Challenge today at 10:30 a.m.' Tenchi was waiting for them, with a whole bunch of baseball gear that included helmets and aluminum bats, was right behind him. Tenchi: Hello everyone! How's everyone doing? No one responds, as the effects from the past few days are still stinging. Rini does speak up after a few seconds, though. Rini: Lousy. Everyone's all mad with each other because the alliances were too big! Tenchi: A lot of turmoil on both sides, I see. Well, you'll all have to put that aside, because today's your fifth and final roommate challenge. There's a lot of looking around, as everybody glances at their 'roommates.' Some are definitely not pleased, especially Amy R. and Tally. Amy R.: (CC) After what Tally did, she's the last person I'd want to work with! Tenchi: As some of you may have figured out already, today's challenge involves baseball. What exactly... well, you'll find out soon enough. But first things first... we need to teach you all the mechanics of the game, especially since some of you have probably never played baseball before. ====== [Team Assignments: Red - James and Jet Blue - Nabiki and Whitney Yellow - Takuya and Trowa Green - Haruka and Yusuke Orange - Amy M. and Rally Violet - Trunks and Yugi Black - Keith and Rini White - Amy R. and Tally] The first thing the Roomies have to do is try on batting helmets. Because of the fact that there are different head sizes and different hairstyles. Amy R.: I can't find one that's small enough for my head! Yugi: Uh... my hair won't fit under my helmet! After that, the group has to find a bat to use for the competition. Tenchi: The trick is to find a bat that's not too heavy, yet not too light either. Trunks: (holding up the heaviest bat with ease) What if they're all too light? James: (struggling to pick up the lightest) What if they're all too heavy? Yusuke: (sweatdrops) You're kidding me. Next up is batting practice, as well as learning when a ball is fair and when it is foul. Rally stands at the plate, where a baseball is propped up on a tee. Tenchi: Okay... whack the ball as far as you can. Rally: I know how baseball works, thank you! Rally swings her bat and connects with the ball, which bounces off of the ground and goes 25 feet along the grass. A few minutes later, Haruka takes a turn. Haruka: Well, here goes nothing. She swings and hits the ball down towards where the third base foul line would be on a field, as it bounces left and foul. Yugi: This doesn't look so hard at all. ====== Finally, with gear and all, it's on to a makeshift baseball field. This is where the actual challenge is going to be held. The outfield fence is 200 feet away from home plate all the way around. On the field, they see ARPulver, this season's fifth and final cameo, taking some batting practice. He's wearing a red batting helmet over a purple baseball cap. A pitching machine set up on the mound regularly shoots a ball at him. His first swing dribbles towards the left side of second base. ARPulver: (to himself) 6-3. His second swing gets a little more air, and lands just before the outfield starts to the right of second base. ARPulver: F-4. He has more luck with his third swing, and sends one into right-center field, bouncing off the outfield wall. ARPulver: That's a double... Tenchi: (to the cast) To help us out with this challenge, this is our final cameo of the season, ARPulver. Tenchi turns to ARPulver, who has stopped swinging and turns the pitching machine off. Tenchi: Getting some extra BP, Arp? ARPulver walks towards the group, taking off his batting helmet and revealing his Whitewater cap. ARPulver: It's better than paying to use a batting cage. Nabiki: Darn right! Tenchi: ARPulver is going to be working the pitching machine you see on the mound there. You'll be doing the same thing he was just doing, except you'll be aiming to knock the balls all the way out there, over the fence. Tenchi points to the outfield fence... which makes a few people gasp. Tenchi: Today, you'll be competing in a Home Run Derby, where the team that gets the most combined Home Runs will win the challenge. Whitney: (CC) We have to hit a baseball all the way out there? Who does Tenchi think we are... superheroes? Tenchi: Each pairing needs to decide which of you will go first. Each person gets ten outs. An out consists of either swinging and missing a pitch from the machine or hitting a ball anywhere but out of the park in fair territory. Once you get ten outs, your turn is up and the next person goes. The order in the first round will be chosen at random, so get your bats and let's play ball! The teams decide their order and then step up to the plate for the challenge. ====== [Roommate Challenge 5: The Little League Home Run Derby] The Violet Team is selected to go first, as Yugi steps up to the plate. ARPulver operates the pitching machine from behind the safety of an L-shaped fence. ARPulver: Ready? Yugi: I'm ready! ARPulver reaches into a small basket of baseballs and pulls one out. He runs the ball through the machine, which pitches it towards Yugi at 65 miles per hour. It's right over the plate, but high and way over Yugi's head. ARPulver: Hold on... let me adjust it. After some minor changes, ARPulver sends the second pitch Yugi's way. This one's almost on target as Yugi swings at it... and flat out misses low. Keith: Ha! We finally found something Yugi's not good at! The third pitch comes Yugi's way, and he swings. This time he connects, but it ends up being a dribbler towards shortstop. Two outs so far. Yugi continues to swing away, missing several pitches while hitting others. The ones he does hit, though, either go foul or don't even get out of the infield. His farthest hit ball goes 80 feet, right towards where the second baseman would be standing if he were playing closing to second base. As for his last at-bat, Yugi swings at the pitch and misses, making it out number ten. Yugi: (walking away from the plate) I couldn't keep up with the machine! That was harder than I thought it would be! ====== [Challenge Fast Forward] Speeding through the first round... Takuya (Yellow) - Hits a couple of good flies, though most of them go foul, and one late swing causes a ball to hit the backstop behind him. Best shot was a foul line drive in left field that goes 104 feet. Nabiki (Blue) - She takes her time as she chooses her pitches, but it doesn't help her much. Most of her hits are infield bouncers, with one or two that make their way to the outfield. Had a best drive of 77 feet between first and second. Rally (Orange) - First batter to hit balls anywhere near the outfield fence. Although she hit a few bouncers, she quickly gets used to the pitching machine and starts making solid hits. Finally, with one out left to use, she drives a ball down the right field line. It barely clears the fence, going 205 feet. Amy R. (White) - Surprises some people by getting several balls out of the infield. She's still way too weak to hit any near the fence, as her farthest drive goes 113 feet into straightaway center, beyond second base and over ARPulver's head. Yusuke (Green) - Really whacks the ball hard, sending most of his deep flies to center and right fields. Two balls go over the fence, going 233 and 239 feet, respectively. His farthest, 255 yards, was foul to the right, and a fourth ball hit the center-right fence and bounced off. Keith (Black) - Pops a few flies and some foul balls before really whacking away. Three in a row go over at 254, 280, and 222 feet. After hitting two more flies, Keith gets another HR at 230, followed by one more for good measure at 261 feet. James (Red) - James is last in the first round, but he's not well-coordinated when it comes to bat swinging. Seven of his ten outs are because he missed balls, and out of the pitches he did hit, the farthest went 185 feet, just short of the center-left field fence. [End Challenge Fast Forward] ====== After a short break, the second round begins. Five teams did not hit one over the fence in the first round, so the order they go in is decided at random. Trowa of the Yellow Team is selected to go first. Trowa: Give me your best shot! ARPulver sends the first pitch, which goes outside. Trowa mistakenly swings at it and fouls it off to the right, making it out number one. Trowa: (shakes his head) Okay, that was a stupid pitch. ARPulver makes an adjustment to the machine before sending pitch number two. But this time, it goes way too far inside. Trowa scoots back, but accidentally leans his head forward... and that's what's hit by the ball. Trowa goes down, as the ball bounces off of his helmet and rolls to a stop. Everyone comes running out to see if Trowa's okay, including the pitcher himself. Takuya: Trowa! Are you okay? Tenchi: He took one nasty hit there. Trowa is lying on the ground face up, awake but in pain. ****** Tenchi, Takuya, Amy M., and a few others are gathered around Trowa, who is lying down on the ground with his helmet off. The helmet had slowly been peeled off by Tenchi and ARPulver in order to give Trowa some air. Amy M.: Are you alright? Takuya: Yeah... that was a nasty bean to the head you took! Trowa slowly sits up, holding a hand up to his head. ARPulver: Didn't mean to hit you there... you're not hurt, are you? Trowa: Got a little headache, but I should be fine. It was my fault anyway for putting my head in the path of the ball. Amy M.: Maybe you should quit. We wouldn't want anything else to happen to you. Trowa: I'm fine. I just need a few minutes to gather myself. Tenchi: Well, there are a few other teams that scored zero in the first round. We'll let a few of them go and then we'll see if you can go. If not, I'll allow Takuya to bat for you. Takuya: I hope you are okay, Trowa! You're the only one strong enough to hit them out! Everyone applauds gracefully as Trowa is helped to his feet by Tenchi and Takuya. He's dragged over to a nearby bench to get some rest. Takuya stays with him to keep an eye on him and make sure he's okay while the challenge continues. ====== [Challenge Fast Forward] Jet (Red) - Starts off slow, but he gets in the groove too. At one point he hits six straight deep, each between 225 and 280 feet. After hitting a few foul or just short, Jet takes two more deep to 264 and to the farthest yet, 317 feet, before bowing out. Tally (White) - Can't get a knack for the pitching machine, though she does get in some good swings. Good fortune shines upon her as she does manage one over the right field fence, just left of the foul pole, at 231 feet. Whitney (Blue) - Really struggles getting the balls deep. Most of her hits go right back to the fence protecting ARPulver, with a few going around. Her best drive is a 120 feet drive that goes foul down the left field line. Trunks (Violet) - Starts smashing them from the get-go, but because he doesn't aim well, most of them fly foul to either side even though several go near or past the 300-foot mark. Three drives to center field at 254, 311, and 296 feet, along with an astounding 340 feet to left field later, Trunks ends with another deep foul ball. Trowa (Yellow) - Having recovered, Trowa steps up and carefully takes his time searching for good pitches. He gets a few drives, but doesn't seem to able to muster the needed power to get a home run. That is, until with two outs left, when he belts a pitch 238 feet to center-right. Amy M. (Orange) - Makes several good swings, but she just doesn't have the power to clear the outfield fences. Two of her hits go over 175 feet and roll to the right field fence, but that's as far as she goes. Haruka (Green) - Haruka is the superstar of the women, as she's the only female to get more than one over the fence. In fact, she socks three... a 218 right field shot on her second pitch, a 224 shot to dead center midway through, and a late screamer to right that goes 209. [End Challenge Fast Forward] ====== That just leaves Rini to go for the Black Team. Haruka's three HRs had put her and Yusuke in a tie with Rini and Keith for second. Rini needed three to tie the leaders James and Jet, and four to beat them. That's asking a lot out of a small little girl like Rini. Rini: No matter what happens, I'm going to try my best! Keith: (to himself) Too bad her best isn't nearly enough. Unfortunately for Keith, Rini has the hardest time out of all the players getting used to the pitching machine's speed. She already had seven outs before finally managing to connect with one. That one goes foul, but the impact of the ball was enough to make Rini's arms sore. Rini: Can't you make them slower? It hurts to hit them! Amy M.: (CC) People tend to forget that baseball is a dangerous sport. Most of us aren't strong enough to hit like Jet or Yusuke or Trunks. Even though ARPulver does slow down the machine a little, the pitches are still too fast for Rini to handle. Two pitches later, she goes down swinging, ending the challenge as James celebrates with Jet. James: We won! (jumping into Jet's arms) We won again! Jet: (dropping James) Stop acting like a weirdo! ====== The challenge is over, and everyone's gathered to hear the results. Some of the gang, including most of the girls, are aching in pain from having to hit or try to hit so many fast pitches. Yugi: Who would've known pitching machines could cause so many injuries? Takuya: That's why I play soccer instead of baseball. Tenchi: Well, you should all give yourselves a well deserved hand for doing so well. I know this challenge was tough for some of you, but at least you'll all get to rest after this. Rally: Thank God! Tenchi: We also need to thank ARPulver a wonderful job of working the pitching machine. Arp takes a bow as the Roomies applaud him for doing a good job. Tenchi: Now... the results! Finishing last with no homers is the Blue team. Tied for fifth with one are the Orange, Yellow and White teams. Placing fourth is the Violet team with four. Tied for second with five are the Green and Black teams. That leaves with the winners... with eight home runs! James and Jet, congratulations on your spectacular win! Once again, James and Jet are extremely happy over their win. Tenchi: Great work from all our teams! It's been great, but it's time to head back. Have a good night's rest, and I'll see you next time. The teams head back to either the cabin or the campsite, with mixed feelings abound. ====== It wasn't long until the switch occured, but for Amy M., Amy R., Nabiki, Rally, Tally, and Trowa, who were all coming over from the cabin, they felt dead tired when they arrived. Obviously, Takuya and Whitney were tired too, because they had curled up in the same tent to get some rest. Tally: Look at you two little lovebugs. This must be how you spend time when there's nothing to do. Rally: You think you know someone. Then something happens that changes your mind. Takuya: (sitting up and covering his eyes) Close the door... I'm trying to sleep here! Whitney: (yawning) We both are. Amy M.: You mean you two don't mind sharing the same tent? Whitney: It's only for right now, Amy. Takuya was going to move when you guys got here. Takuya: Me move? It was my tent to begin with... you came here to sleep with me! Whitney: It was just to get some shut eye... and you shouldn't say it that way because that makes people assume the wrong thing. Rally: I'll say... and this coming from the person who turned down Yugi a few days ago. Whitney: I'm not... Tally: We know, we know... you're not interested. It sounds like we're hearing a lot of that lately. Takuya: Then can I please go back to sleep? My muscles are sore! Rally: (pulling Whitney up) You can share a tent with whichever of the girls you want... but leave the boys together in this one, okay? The girls help Whitney gather her stuff out and move it out while Trowa, the only other guy in the group for the time being, moves his in. ====== Over at the cabin, it was Yugi and Yusuke who greeted Haruka, James, Jet, Keith, Rini, and Trunks all back to the cabin. And instantly, the guys looked as if they were going to take control. Yusuke: Now we can stay up as long as we want and watch whatever we want! I call Dragonball Z! Trunks: Second! Keith: I get the primo seat in front of TV. Yusuke: Lay off, Keith, 'cause I saw it first! James: (already sitting on the chair) But I'm the one sitting in it, so I get it! The foursome are seen fighting over who actually gets to sit in the chair, while Jet, Yugi, Haruka, and Rini look on. Rini: They're worse than Serena is! Yugi: I've never seen so many people fight for one chair when there are plenty of other good seats. Jet: Boys will be boys. Haruka: Well, some of the boys better be responsible for keeping the place clean, because I'm not doing all the work for them. James, Yusuke, Keith, and Trunks continue to fight over a single, solitary seat as Jet, Yugi, Haruka, and Rini decide to go off and do their own things. ====== Night Thirty-Three That evening, as the late night hours begin to settle in, Rini decided to spend time watching DVDs with Trunks and Yugi. They were currently viewing an episode of Gundam Wing as Rini sat there, not really as interested in the show as Trunks and Yugi were. Yugi: Wouldn't it be great to have a mobile suit of our own? Trunks: Sure! Mine would be called Gundam Saiyan and it would look just like me! Yugi: If I had one, I'd have it modeled after the Dark Magician... though I'm not sure what I'd call it. Trunks: What about you, Rini? What kind of mobile suit would you have? Rini: I don't know... maybe one that looks like a unicorn. Trunks: (laughs) No way! Whomever heard of a Unicorn Gundam? Yugi: It's not nice to poke fun at other people's ideas, Trunks. Trunks: I know... but can you imagine how a Unicorn Gundam would fight? It'd probably kick them in the legs or something. Yugi: (giggles) Heh... now that you mention it, it is kinda weird. Rini: How can you two say that? I'm free to my own ideas, just like you are! Trunks: But at least are ideas are good ones! Trunks and Yugi laugh again, upsetting Rini, who hops out of her seat and heads to the front door. Yugi: (calming down) Come on, Rini... we were only kidding! Trunks: Yeah! We're just having fun! But Rini didn't believe them one bit, as she opens the door and walks out onto the porch. Yugi: You know, maybe we hurt her feelings. Trunks: Yeah... we'll make it up to her later. Trunks and Yugi go back to watching their DVD, while Rini sits outside on the porch steps to think. Rini: (CC) I'm really learning a lot about not making friends with strangers! Especially strangers that laugh at you! Rini takes a few deep breaths, glances up at the moon, and then walks back inside. ========================= End Episode Sixteen ========================= Tenchi: (VO) On the next episode of Roomies... Trowa: (trying to keep from snickering) You've gotta see this! Tenchi: (VO) With the Adult Alliance gone, it's every man or woman for themselves... Haruka: You have to admit... without me, nothing would get done around here. Takuya: I still don't know if I can trust you, Tally! Tally: Just give me another chance! We can work out a new plan! Tenchi: (VO) Meanwhile, the alliance that has been taken control of by Keith suffers some growing pains of their own... Yusuke: I will not stand by and watch you run this alliance into the ground like you did with the Adult Alliance! Keith: If you want to win, you'll let me do whatever I want! Tenchi: (VO) One of the Roomies gets a nice surprise... Amy M.: (holding a gift) This was by the water tank this morning. Rally: You've got to be the luckiest girl in the world! Tenchi: (VO) And is it really worth dressing like an anime character of the opposite sex just to win a car? Amy R.: (laughing) Who's she supposed to be anyway? Yugi: Couldn't I have been someone easy, like Akane? Nabiki: I doubt my sister would like having a guy dress like her. Tenchi: (VO) That's all on the next episode of Roomies! Jet: (sweatdrops) I've never been more embarrassed in my entire life. ==================== Additional Author's Notes ==================== The little blurb from the book Amy Mizuno is reading is make-believe... it's not from any actual book, as far as I know. A special thanks to ARPulver, the fifth and final cameo of the season. Once again, another cameo did an outstanding job! If you've never cameoed before, you're missing out on all the fun! ========================= Next Episode ========================= We're getting close to the end... Episode 17 is only a few days away! Also, don't forget to do the polls and submit questions for the Reunion Special!